Artifacts: Fuel Pump

Old, Retired Gasoline Pump

Fuel pumps actually predate the invention of the automobile. The car, however, really brought them to every other corner of every town in the first part of the last century. Automobiles and the infrastructure of service stations, roads, and the many other supporting business grew hand in hand. The artifact shown here is from the early days. Fuel was pumped into a glass cylinder which allowed the quantity to be carefully measured and reassured the customer of the amount being purchased. Dispensing into the car was by gravity through a hose with a valve nozzle.

Old Gas Pump

This particular pump sits in front of a fuel island that is much more modern, yet it too has seen its glory days a long time ago.

As the road network grew in the second half of the 1900s, the longer travel distances and higher car speeds required improved roads. Sadly those newer roads usually bypassed the little towns and the businesses located there found their previous customers speeding by a few miles away. This gas station was “retired” along with many such places. You can see from the price sign of 42.9 cents per gallon of Diesel fuel that it has been a long time since a customer stopped by.

With this post I am continuing my series of “square views of artifacts”. Things around us that we rarely pay much attention to. I invite you to join in. Look around you, capture the big and little things, the historic items, the essentials, and the nonsensical bits and pieces that say “humans were here”. I am tagging this “artifacts”, maybe you wish to do likewise.